Angels of My Demons: Prologue
by darthluna01
Summary: After giving birth, Padmé takes her twins to see their father, a decision shrouded in ill fate. When the final showdown between Vader and his former master ensues, the destiny of the Skywalker family left in mystery. Prequel to the upcoming main fic, AU.
1. Faustian Temptation

Anakin was distraught with so many emotions at once that he felt he should explode were he to hold them in any longer. Darkness clouded his better judgment and sensibilities within his self-made prison of solitude. He should have gone with them, rather than left to wait. Patience had never been, and never would be, one of his strong points.

Palpatine's words echoed in his mind, taunting him mercilessly. "_...rid of me and all chance to prevent the death of your **wife**..." _He struggled with those words as that horrible vision clouded his mind. He moved around restlessly, looking through the window and facing the apartment, dreading the sun as it descended beneath Coruscant's metropolitan skyscape.

He saw her in his premonitions again, her pained image reeling through in his mind as a tear escaped his eyes. For what seemed like an eternity he stood there gazing through that cursed window. The most painful memories of his entire existence pierced his heart:

_T__here was his mother with her kind and gentle face, edged with sadness at the loss of her son, but so glad that he would be safe...then, his mother again, knocking on Death's very door while he held her in his arms...'Ani? Is that you? You look so handsome.' She smiled for the last time before struggling with last words she could somehow never finish. 'I love - I love--'_

_Gone. Dead. Never to return._

Anakin's brilliant blue eyes were brimming with tears. He swallowed and felt the large lump that constricted his throat. The pain was unbearable, thinking of how many moments she would have left if he couldn't help her. _How many more moments, until she joins my mother?_ Heedless, Anakin rushed to the dock and slipped languidly into the cockpit of his starfighter.

He sped like a bat out of hell, bent on senseless heroism. He made haste on arriving at the Capital, taking what seemed like forever to reach the Chancellor's office. Panting, he opened the doors to the chamber. Strewn across the floor were the dead bodies of Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar and SaeSee Tin. Horrified, Anakin glided through the hall to a startling scene:

The Chancellor was pinned on the bottom of the shattered window sill, with Mace Windu's purple lightsaber a mere finger's width away from his neck.

Anakin heard a relieved and triumphant Master Windu. "You are under arrest, _my lord._"

"Anakin, I told you it would come to this: _The Jedi are taking over!_"

Master Windu interjected. "The opression of the Sith, will _never _return. _You, _have _lost!_"

The Chancellor hesitated, but acquired an eerie tone. "No...no..._you have lost!_"

Beads of sweat gathered profusely on Anakin's brow as his eyes flitted back and forth between the two. He felt on the brink of tears for so much pressure, trying to speak when nothing came out. Instead his breath was labored and the strain was dizzying, so dizzying that he could barely hear the pleas of the two in front of him, nor the conflict that had been sparked. The pressure of lightning against lightsaber was so great that it flapped his robes, yet nevertheless he drew closer. Closer, only to hear feigned pleas of weakness.

"He's...a traitor..."

"No, _he_ is the traitor!" yelled Master Windu, struggling.

"I have the power, to save the one you love...you _must choose_!"

Anakin noticed the break in his voice, the face that was diminishing into a mess of wrinkles, and the hollow look in his cheeks - he _was _getting weaker, it seemed. As Anakin witnessed the conflict before him, his mind was going through an internal conflict_: What must I sacrifice? The love of my life, or the Jedi Order? _When voiced in such a way it seemed easier to choose, but for Anakin, that just made it worse.

Master Windu interrupted those thoughts. "Don't listen to him, Anakin!"

Anakin's brain was going into overdrive, and his whole body felt immobilized by the scene that lay before him. _I have to think fast, _he thought, _the Chancellor is getting weaker._

The Chancellor did indeed have the appearance of weakness: Palpatine trembled with his head to the floor, and the strength of his force-lightning was dissipating. His voice was a lethargic wail. "I can't hold on any longer..."

Anakin's expression was pensive and strained as ever, he felt like the whole world was crashing down on him, or as if he had completely forgotten how to breathe.

Then, he began to stutter in a frail whisper. "I...I...I'm too weak...Anakin, help me, help me!"

Palpatine's strength and voice were fading. "I-I can't hold on any longer." The lightning ceased as its creator lay, shriveled and decrepit.

Resolute, Master Windu raised his lightsaber. "I am going to end this, _once and for all._"

Gaining his voice, tremulous as it was, Anakin argued. He grasped at the first thing that came into his head - he was basically groping in the dark. "You can't -- he must stand trial!"

Master Windu could not believe the boy's stupidity, and looked at him gravely. "He has control of the Senate and the Courts - he's too dangerous to be left alive!"

Another timely feeble whisper escaped Palpatine. "Ah...I'm too weak. Don't kill me, please!"

"It's not the Jedi way!" Anakin was near begging now, and he had taken out his lightsaber. Yet, as the other Jedi gave him what turned into a dark and _very dangerous_glare, Anakin began to digress.

The glaring Jedi Master looked at the evil Sith Lord across from him. "This is the end for you, _my lord._"

As Mace Windu raised his lightaber again, a tingling sensation overtook Anakin. He tried to ignore it as he watched the purple blade descend slowly: _closer, closer...almost there...ACHOO!_

_**Meanwhile...**_

Padme had nothing to do all day, being that most of her activities had been postponed, due to her rotund abdomen. Lately, she had lots of spare time, in which she dwelled on things that worried her or, she would spend time with her husband. Yet, somehow these two things merged together, because her main worry _was _her husband. Times were tense nowadays, and the Clone Wars had come to their peak. Padme had always feared this: the anxiety, the death and most of all, how people got so involved with the war that patience ceased to be a virtue but instead became a necessity. Now it seemed, all she was doing, was waiting. Waiting for the birth of her children; waiting for her husband; waiting for this horrible war to end; waiting for Chancellor Palpatine to give up emergency powers; waiting to go back home; waiting to spend time with the one she loved; waiting, for the time when peace would reign once again.

And what frustrated her most, was that she was helpless to do otherwise.

Padme Naberrie Amidala, who had once been a Queen, now a senator, was not used to being helpless. It just didn't suit her. aving been so involved with politics had always enabled her to be denied of helplessness. But Padme's mind soon drifted back to her husband, and even though she was not Force-sensitive, she knew something was troubling him, hurting him. Ever since learning of her pregnancy, he had been distant, holding back something that hurt him so much he didn't want to tell her. Salty tears cascaded down her cheeks, she gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, trembling, but not able to stem the flow.

And why?

_Because it hurts me too._

--

**AN: I'm trying to leave a cliffhanger here, you'll see. Review please!**


	2. Selling of the Soul

The _zoom _of an activated lightsaber was heard as Anakin stumbled forward slightly, and at the same precise moments, the magnitude of the pressure on Anakin's sinuses had been subsided with an almighty sneeze loud enough to wake the dead along with a scream that startled him. Yet, what was even more startling was the fact that Mace Windu's lightsaber arm was severed from his body, and in a split-parsecond Anakin heard Palpatine yell all-too-clearly, "_Ultimate Power!" _With that, another more powerful surge of lightning blasted a defenseless man through the window.

Anakin stared and the sounds echoed in his head - the scream that was falling, falling into a dark abyss below; the scratchy static of the bright-blue flames; the helpless figure that seemed to stay glued to his eyes.

Anakin knew he should feel -- well, he wasn't exactly sure what he was feeling. He did know that he shouldn't have been feeling this...emptiness. Empty, as if he wasn't even Anakin Skywalker anymore instead as if he were a completely different person, devoid of compassion. Possibly trying to shake himself out of the emptiness, he cried, "What have I _done_?" Yet, he realized that he didn't know exactly what he _had _done. The whole ordeal was so brief it was a blur until it had been over.

Regardless of Anakin's feelings, Palpatine rose to his full height and pulled the hood of his robes over his head to hide the horrifying wrinkles and distortions of his visage, not to mention the sickly yellow shade of his eyes and the deep depressions that cemented themselves underneath. His voice noticeably stronger as he said, "You chosen wisely Anakin. Join me, and I will teach you the Dark Side of the Force! Become my apprentice and we will rule the galaxy together!"

Exactly what Anakin had chosen, he did not know. At first he thought of destroying the Chancellor because of his affiliation with the Sith, but then he remembered the horrible dreams that plagued him. -- Anakin was willing to comply as long as he could save Padme. _About what the Jedi order? _a nagging voice said. _Your dream it is! He is lying, how do you know not? _it persisted. _The Chancellor would not lie, _he argued with it, _I know him. _

_Sith Lord you did not know of him so well. The smart one are not YOU supposed to be? _it retorted. It sounded uncannily like Master Yoda.

_He had his reasons to keep it a secret; if he hadn't, he would have been arrested a long time ago. _Anakin responded.

_Good thing that might have been. _The voice paused. _But the 'Chosen One' you are, have the Force as your ally you do. Enough that need him, you do not._

Palpatine was waiting as patiently as possible, while Anakin's patience was growing thin. _But what if I can't do it by myself? I need him! No matter what you say I can't live without her! I cannot lose her like I lost my mother._

"I...I will do...whatever you ask. As long as...we can save...Padme..."

The nagging voice was silent.

Palpatine's eyes lit, and his lips formed a sinisterly twisted smile. "With our combined efforts, we will soon gain this power. You will be a Dark Lord of the Sith. Known as Darth..._Vader._"

Fear shook Anakin to the point where he collapsed head-first on to the floor, but steadied himself with his metal hand and managed to to say, "Yes..._master_."

With that, the nagging voice was bound and gagged as it's owner's fate was signed, sealed and delivered in the form of Darth Vader.

--

Padme lingered anxoiusly on the veranda of her and Anakin's apartment, trying to cover her eyes which were red from crying. Usually, the peace and quiet calmed her, along with the expectance of her husband's return making these waits cheerful. Trying to grip on to these thoughts, she gazed at the Jedi Temple.

In reverie of a day spent with Anakin in Naboo, she heard an almighty bang. Padme looked back at the Temple, horrified. Swirling clouds of smoke billowed from the top floor of the Temple near the Council's Room.

Before Padme blacked out, she heard the faint sounds of a ship, before the feel of a warm fluid trickled down her leg.

_--_

_0300 hours earlier_

A breeze blew through the entrance to the Jedi Temple as Vader led a band of clones up the steps with a grudging stride. His large procession was directed to go through certain areas of the Temple and guard them as Vader did his work.

The former Anakin stepped into the turbolift, acknowledging the familiarity of the place and all the times he had walked in and out of the very same turbolift. Vader recalled how _Anakin _felt on his first fateful day at the Temple. Every particle of him was consumed with anxiety, fear, and homesickness. Now, his last day, he was consumed in anger, fear, and hatred.

The turbolift lurched, forcing him back to the task ahead of him. Vader touched metal with metal, contacting his hand with the silvery hilt of his lightsaber. A new voice, much more sinister than the last, reared itself. _This is where the fun begins, _it spoke in a twisted way. A distance below, he heard the blasts of clones, and the swish of lightsabers, fruitlessly attempting to dodge the crude blaster fire. Nevertheless, Vader had only the smallest quiver of conscience which he shook off quickly.

He barged into a room that appeared deserted, except for the several meditation chairs. Vader knew better, and could sense every single presence in the room. A single blonde boy, who was familiar to Anakin spoke bravely. "Master Skywalker, they're everywhere! What are we going to do?"

Vader kneeled down to face the youngling and said, "Follow me, to a place where you will be safe."

Afraid, despite their teachings, the younglings obediently followed their senior and were loaded onto transports by other clones. They would be brain-washed and turned to the Dark Side for Palpatine's use.

Vader moved to the upper floors, finding more younglings. Nothing had sparked his conscience again until reaching the padawann's quarters which housed many of the teenaged Force-sensitives. In an attempt to block of the raiding clones, they had barricaded all entrances, using other lightsaber techniques to keep out unwanted intruders.

It took some amount of time, but Vader made his way through to find huddles of padawanns very much surprised to see him. A padawann on the brink of Jedi Knighthood dipped his head respectfully. "Master Skywalker." At this, Vader ignited his lightsaber, and struck it clean through the astonished padawann. All the others in the room were astonished too, and soon enough a ferociously swift battle ensued. Not once did the first nagging voice come back - it was suppressed by the cries of to-be Jedi, and the eerie satisfactory voice which always had something to say afterwards.

The slaughter was almost over and dozens of unknown Jedi lay motionless on the stone floor. A small band still remained, which Vader tracked down with ease. Amongst them was the Chief librarian, Jocasta Nu. Wielding her lightsaber, she put up a strong fight. But even in her Vader could detect a glimmer of fear. Not for her own life, but for the unknowns who had not survived the onslaught.

Eventually, Vader proved the more aggressive, resulting in Jocasta losing her lightsaber and her life. Before the blue blade struck her chest, she said, "You may strike me down, but we are not the last of the Jedi. May the force be with them."

The conscience that was his former self appeared again, making him hesitate. He knew this woman. She had assisted him when he was a young padawann and had always been strict, yet kind.

_But she betrayed you, _the second voice told him.

Reassuring himself, he hesistated no longer and plunged his merciless lightsaber into his victim.


	3. Interlude of Chaos

Warm, slippery fluid coursed gently down Padmé's slim legs, causing her to let out an incoherent mumble in her state of near-unconsciousness.

"Excuse me? Excuse me? Miss Padmé!"

Suddenly, a very large amount of freezing cold fluid was doused on her head, making her shoot up into a somewhat upright position.

Padmé squinted to see what was going on. A thin golden figure stood before her with a large, wet bowl. "Threepio?"

"Excuse me, Miss Padme. You were quite unresponsive and I had to resort to drastic measures. Are you alright?"

She was about to answer "fine" as usual, but the feeling in her lower abdomen prevented her from doing so. "I-I'm not exactly...so sure...about that. It feels like...I'm leaking."

Padmé watched as the shiny protocol droid bustled about in fervor and panic. "Goodness gracious me! We must get you to a medical center immediately. Because I am programmed to understand humans, I am also programmed with knowledge of their anatomy. I understand the process of--"

"Would you just cut to the chase and tell me what's going on?" Padmé interjected, slightly frustrated by the droids chattering. _Anakin really should find some way to shut him up..._

Flustered, he replied, "I _understand _that most humanoids call it 'breaking water'. I believe that you are supposed to have started the process of going into what is called 'labor'. If you have truly 'broken your water', Miss Padme, I believe that we should go to a medical center with haste."

Padmé stuttered. "B-but how? How can this--I don't--but--"

"I am afraid I don't quite understand."

"How can this happen when Anakin's not here!?" she practically shouted.

"Well, your 'breaking water' does not rely on whether the father, Master Anakin, is here or not you see."

Padmé felt like hitting her head against a brick wall. She was about to make a snappy retort when a sharp pain overcame her. "Agh!"

"Miss Padmé, I have located a Medical Center nearby and I strongly recommend that we proceed immediately. The chances of a successful home birth are three thou--"

Padme was irritable and in pain, along with being a near nine months pregnant, making her hormones quick to react. "Shut up, Threepio! I don't care what the blasted chances are! Just get me into the speeder with a change of clothes and contact Anakin!"

The protocol droid was quite flustered. "Shut up? Goodness gracious me! Of course." He went off, muttering about his understanding of human behavior.

Threepio navigated the speeder slower than usual, or so it seemed to the Nubian Senator. She estimated it had been about 41 standard minutes since her last contraction, making her panic as to what time she would actually have the baby and if her husband would arrive in time.

--

_Darth Sidious' Office_

_"...Jedi traitors have been dealt with, my master. The younglings have been recruited for your purpose." _The miniature blue holo-image of Darth Vader kneeled before Darth Sidious with the report of the Jedi Purge he had inflicted. Jocasta Nu was the last in the temple, and by killing her he had truly accomplished the role of a Sith.

Sidious spoke in a twisted, deep and echoing tone that could chill to the bone. "Good. Good. You have done well Lord Vader. Your next assignment will be to elminate the Seperatists. They are located on the Mustafar system, a volcanic planet. They will be expecting you. Strike them down and show no mercy."

"Yes, my master." The hooded figure rose and bowed deeply, then his hand pressed a button, cutting their transmission.

--

_At the Jedi Temple_

Vader turned of the transmission and then faced the commanding clone officer. "Gather the bodies. Burn them all in the top Council Room."

Promptly, the armored man saluted. "Yes, sir. Immediately, sir. All right men - let's get started!"

Satisfied, Vader directed the turbolift to the floor of the technical room, where transmissions were sent and security records were kept. Every last Jedi would be taken care of in due course, and not even their pitiful concept of the Force could save them now.

"How may I help you?" said a cool, mechanically-generated, female voice from the computer's system. Several symbols and options scrawled onto the screen as she recited them.

Vader prodded at the screen several moments before he was asked again by the computer, "Transmission request affirmative. Record your message in five seconds." The screen counted down from five, and then Vader replied,

"All Jedi, return immediately to the Temple for Emergency reinforcement, we are under attack. Repeat, return to the Temple for reinforcement, we are under attack; over."

"Message saved, and will be transmitted in ten seconds." He waited, until it confirmed, "Transmission successful." The screen went blank as it shut off, and Vader, satisfied, exited the Temple over the mass of bodies which were being gathered.

As he took off in his starfighter, billowing clouds of smoke and fire rose from the top of the Temple, and the ivory white pillars began to crumble to the ground.

--

The docking bay of the medical center was completely full, the emergency spots were even packed. C-3PO navigated through the aisles searching for a vacant parking place, until Padme ordered him ot stop the vehicle so she could run into the building.

With her over-large stomach to impair her walking, she trudged hastily into the hall, when she suddenly ran into one of the Medics.

"Oh my!" The blond attendee shouted, "Oh, Senator Amidala! How honored I--"

"Just get me into a chair you incompetent fool! Are you blind? Can't you see I'm in labor!" Her husband's temper was starting to rub off on her.

The blonde was quite flustered, before an older woman with caramel-colored hair made a gentle inquiry. "Is something the matter, miss? Oh! Tilna, get this lady a chair at once, and I'll prepare a room. How long ago did you break your water, and when was your last contraction, dear?"

Padmé was relieved to find a decent personnel, and inhaled slowly before stating, "50 minutes ago, I think. Oh, where is Threepio?"

"Threepio ma'am? Is that the baby's father?"

"No, no...he's my, uh, protocol droid. He was supposed to park my vehicle, but I don't know --" She broke off as the breath caught in her throat and another piercing wave of pain engulfed her.

"Okay, then. Well, here we've got you a room. My name is Nurse Zahn and the girl you saw earlier is my assistant Tilna. We'll be your midwives for this operation, and if things go smoothly you can have your baby out by the morning! Would you prefer to have an all-natural birth or take medicine?"

Squinting hard from the light, Padmé responded, "I...I think I'd prefer to have a natural birth, but..."

Nurse Zahn didn't need an answer twice, and before she knew it, Padmé was on a medical bed in the hospital patient's garb. Already, several machines were positioned on either side of her, along with several tools and medicines which would be needed after the birth.

Despite the efficiency of the institute and its workers, her mind was reeling with the fact that she was alone, and had even no idea where Anakin was. She started to wish that she had told her family about her pregnancy, up until C-3P0 tottered into the room wearing another hospital robe, one similar to which the doctors wore.

"Oh, Mistress Padme, I am glad to see that you are well situated. With my knowledge of the human behavior, I understand that childbirth is a very painful process, one which many sentients still participate in, despite the risks, and that comfort is defeinitely--"

"Excuse me Senator Amidala, I have some forms for you and your droid to look over so that we can sign you in for our records and treat you legally. Please look them over and tell me if there are any problems." Tilna, the blond assistant held oout the datapad for Threepio and departed before any further words could be exchanged.

Typically, Threepio began to read the subjects listed in his prim voice. "What is your date of birth? Do you have any allergies? Do you have any of the following medical disabilites/diseases? Do you or have you ever taken Nim-Orjen? Ha--"

"Just give me the list!" Padme furiously checked off several of the items and signed her name with a flourish before throwing it back to the affronted droid. After doing so, she snatched the remote of the HoloNet and pressed the button to turn it on. The screen flared blue before spouting a menu, to which Padmé selected the news.

_"...unknown attacks continue to rage on the Jedi Temple, and the destruction of the building is what sources say to be stormtrooper fire. So far, we have no reasoning behind this, but are working on every single code frequency we have to attain the accurate information. Please stay tuned for more._

_And onto the recent Senate meeting that is scheduled to be held in 0200 hours from now, all of the galaxy's representatives are attending this event; from the Bith to the Zabrak. Word of this meeting was only announced but a few short hours ago by the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's aide, Sly Moore. As to what the Emergency session includes is also currently unknown._

_For more light-hearted news, the Coruscanti Zoo underwent--"_

The _click _echoed through the maternity ward as Padmé switched off the HoloNet. Open-mouthed and staring at the white walls blankly, her mind went into a whirlwind of thoughts:

_Was Anakin alright? What would cause the troops to turn on him like that? Is this what else had been troubling him that he hadn't bothered to mention? Why couldn't she have seen this coming? And, lastly, where was Anakin?_

Threepio interrupted her worrisome state of mind when he reported that she had also been called to the Emergency Senate Meeting, and what should he tell Mister Mas Ammeda?

It took her several moments to recollect herself and find her voice. "Tell-t-tell him that I'm ill and won't be able to make it at all."

"Yes, Mistress Padmé. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that Mistress Padmé is terribly ill and cannot attend this most important meeting. She is being hospitalized."

_"Ah. Yes, well, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope that she will be well soon. Hospitalized, you say?"_

"Yes, sir. At the Manarai Mountain Medical Center."

_"Hm. I send my regards. Ammeda out."_

Another sharp pang of agony overrode her senses and Padmé gripped the handlebars until her knuckles were white.


	4. Balanced Forces

"Lord Sidious...promised us peace...we only wanted--Agh!" Nute Gunray choked on his last breath, the vibrant blue sizzling a whole through his torso.

Satisfied with his slaughter, Vader deactivated the lightsaber and the Neiomodian fell to the ground. He strode to the control board and punched the frequency code, met by the sunken face of his new master. The young man bent his knee in acknowledgement at the sight of the face.

"Lord Vader." He rose.

"Yes, my Master. The Seperatists have been taken care of. I await your further orders." He glanced into the holographic blue image, longing to hear the secret of sustaining midichlorians, the secret that would save Padme and give him control.

"Good, good!" Sidious cackled. "Dispose of the traitors into the sea, and then remain until it is safe for us to resume _full control_ of the new Empire. I will send for you soon, Lord Vader."

Bowing his head once more, "Yes, my Master." The transmission blinked out and Vader turned, regretting his decision not to call upon Padme before he had departed Coruscant for Mustafar.

As he dropped the fresh corpses into the fiery, churning pits below, Vader felt a sudden tremor, an enormous ripple, through the Force. The sensation was of a powerful aura, meant to be acknowledged and celebrated. The initial intensity faded, leaving behind an uplifting and hopeful feeling. It was, to Vader, a counter to the Darkness that had just overtaken the galaxy. It was balancing the Force, in the sense that thousands of Jedi were falling in the rise of the New Sith Era, for this new presence in the Force was indeed of the best, the purest, kind.

Shaken somewhat, Vader hurried back to the control room and punched code frequencies into the communicator. Something was arising, and it most assuredly had something to do with himself or his wife, he was sure.

* * *

"Now, Senator Amidala...breathe...breathe...push!" Nurse Zahn knelt at the end of the bed, giving out instructions.

"I'm trying!" She wailed, her face wet with a furious perspiration. This had been going on for a short period of time - just a couple of hours, maybe - but to Padme, it felt as if she had been toiling under the stress for a couple of years already.

"Not hard enough! Let go! Let go of everything else and _concentrate. _Just try."

Letting go. . . what did that mean? In most cases it sounded like giving up, something that certainly wasn't in Padme Amidala's vocabulary. Yet in the here and now, it was like taking a last stand. Though she was weak and alone, blinded by a flurry of people, droids, and glaring yellow lights, she squeezed her eyes shut, captured the nearby pillow and sheets in a death-grip, concentrating her whole self into releasing the lives inside of her.

* * *

"My troops have turned on me, I had to steal back my fighter."

The scratchy connection could not ebb the intense worry of Bail Organa's voice. _"It has been happening everywhere to all Jedi. Palpatine has called an assembly of the Senate. One can only hope that he will give us answers; or at least, shadows of answers. In the meantime, Master Yoda is as yet the only survivor of this mysterious business. He awaits you on my ship. I'm so sorry, my friend. And may the Force be with you."_

"I'm sorry as well. May the Force be with you."

The connection blinked out before Obi-Wan ordered Ar-Four to maneuver the autopilot to the _Tantive IV. _Sighing, he found that he could not possibly meditate. There was grim business afoot, too grim, even for the Jedi to handle.

Curse Palpatine! For the Jedi Master knew that the grandfatherly Chancellor, however courteous he seemed, was a politician to the core. Obi-Wan was now entirely sure that Palpatine was the one who had orchestrated this massacre, but he knew not for what reason. What kind of agenda might he have for the Jedi? Of course, the Senate and Jedi Council had not always been on agreement with each other, but the Jedi had always, _always, _acquiesced to their requests.

As sure as Obi-Wan was of Palpatine's involvement, he was just as sure that Anakin was in the middle of the plot. His former padawan had most likely realized the Supreme Chancellor's true character, and had, as usual, done something rash. Those actions, Obi-Wan deduced, were certainly the origin of the galaxy-wide chain reaction now taking place.

For these thoughts, Obi-Wan stayed troubled until Ar-Four transferred dialogue to the computer's screen. They were boarding the _Tantive IV _now.

A light indicated it was safe to exit the starfighter and the Jedi complied, feeling not a little relieved to see Master Yoda, who almost always had some sort of solution to a problem.

The first thing he saw as he stepped out of his battered fighter was the relieved face of Bail Organa. Upon, accessing Obi-Wan's overall healthy condition, Bail instructed his friend to follow him and meet Yoda. The petite green Jedi Master was already heading toward them at the end of the corridor, his trademark gimer stick in hand.

"Master Yoda," greeted Obi-Wan.

"Obi-Wan. Act quickly, we must. Know how much, do you?"

Thus, Obi-Wan explained the mission on Utapau, its short-lived success, and the turning of Cody and the others. The betrayal perplexed him to no end, until, at the end of his explanation, Yoda commented, "Carried out, a deadly order has been. To destroy all Jedi, it is."

"But - the clones, why do they not disobey? Surely--"

At this, Yoda looked stricken and worn. He himself lamented the fall of Commander Gree, especially because it was by his own hand. "Consciousness of their actions, do they have, but ability to disobey, they do not. In their biology, it is. Programmed by the Kaminoans were these measures, irreversible, I believe they are. Too late now to change."

"But it is not too late to do something now!" Obi-Wan bursted with uncharacteristic restlessness.

"Right, you are. Sent, a distress beacon has been, alerting Jedi to return. A trap, this is, for surviving Jedi."

The gears of Obi-Wan's mind turned rapidly. "If there is such a signal, we must disable it to discourage, or even save, any lured Jedi."

A plan was agreed upon: Bail, on the pretense of the Senate meeting, would secretly bring the Jedi Masters, who would infiltrate the Temple and regrettably destroy the troops waiting there. Next, they would scavenge the inside for any surviving Jedi and alter the distress signal to lead Jedi away from Coruscant.


	5. Rite of Passage

A/N: This is pretty much word for word at the beginning, but it's necessary.

* * *

"Retreat, retree--" The clonetrooper was cut off by the buzzing blue blade that was thrust through his chest. His finger, poised on the trigger of his BlasTech, allowed several random shots to fire off as he fell to the ground.

With a heavy heart, Obi-Wan Kenobi deactivated his lightsaber. That was the last of the defense.

Both Jedi Masters were grim as they ascended the steps to the ruined Temple. Upon entering, they saw bodies of the young and the old dispersed upon the floor, lying in positions that indicated they had died either fighting or merely by surprise. Many had their lightsabers still poised in their motionless hands.

Obi-Wan, despite his many years of experience, gasped as he took in the images. Never before had he seen so many slaughtered Jedi, as if they had been banthas left behind for the desert heat. Before he was aware of what he was doing, he knelt down at one of the bodies that lay flat on its stomach. He overturned it to find the face of Mari Amithest, one of the younglings from the Bear Clan. Her small, angelic face could have been in a peaceful slumber.

"Who could have done this?" Not only was the girl's body marred by blaster burns, but a precise hole in the middle of her torso was discernibly from a lightsaber.

"Come later, the time for sorrow will be. For now, find the perpetrator, we must, Obi-Wan. Remembered, the losses will remain. Mourn for them, we shall not. Qui-Gon, remember you must." Though Yoda tried to be encouraging, the tone of his voice conveyed the deep sorrow they both felt.

Reluctantly, Obi-Wan lifted his hand from little Mari's shoulder. Master Yoda was right. Now was not the time to dwell on useless sorrow, and instead to channel all energy into stopping this madness once and for all. The two continued walking throughout the building, their moods descending as they passed more and more of the fallen. After what felt like an eternity, they reached the security and communications room.

"We can reverse the signal to warn all Jedi to find safety."

The diminutive green Jedi hummed his agreement, seeming preoccupied. Once Obi-Wan finished, he looked back towards Yoda, who appeared to be in an almost meditative concentration. Eventually, his elder resumed walking with his gimer stick in hand; Obi-Wan followed. Passing the security databank, Obi-Wan stopped, as did Yoda.

"If into the security recordings you go, only pain will you find."

But the desperate Jedi could not resist his curiosity to find the answer. He needed to know who had done this. He needed to be absolutely sure that it was Palpatine. So he pressed the button, and his heart almost burst as he recognized the figure in the recording.

It was not as he had expected: an older man with white, balding hair, billowing robes, and a red blade. No, instead it was a young twenty-three year old boy with a blue eyes and saber to match whose robes were fitting to accommodate him. No, this man was a sandy blond with a skill unsurpassed by his opponents.

No, this _murderer, _this _Sith, _was Anakin Skywalker.

"It can't be!" Obi-Wan's whisper escaped him. Because this just _couldn't_ be the same boy who had cried nights over his mother and closest thing to a father figure; it couldn't be the same impetuous teenager who used to speederbike race and pull merciless pranks; it couldn't be the same Padawan of his who he'd come to love as a brother, as a friend, and as a son over the past thirteen years.

But it was.

Yoda seemed to be reading his thoughts. "No longer Anakin Skywalker, he is. Consumed by Darth Vader now." The way the elderly Master said _Darth Vader _made a chill run up Obi-Wan's spine. A tired hand swept over his face and he turned the hologram off, unable to bear anymore. Yoda continued.

"Hard for you, it is, but destroy the Sith, we _must."_

Instantly, the tortured man returned, "No - no, I can't. Master, he is like my brother. I cannot kill him. Send _me _after Palpatine instead."

"No," Yoda reprimanded. "To fight this Sidious, strong enough, you are not."

"But I do not know where Anakin is. I do not know where to look," Obi-Wan protested. He could tell it was a flimsy excuse.

"Use your instincts, Obi-Wan, and find him, you will. Pay a visit, to the Emperor, I must."

The younger man buried his head in his hands. Misery engulfed him like the waters of a bitter sea, and he felt like he was drowning in them. This was the bleakest of realities he could ever have imagined.

* * *

Padmé pushed as the pain seared in her lower body and ran up her back. She felt so weak now, even with her hand gripping Threepio's tightly, she felt too exhausted to shove her children out of a ten-centimeter space.

"Come on, keep going! You want to see these babies, don't you?"

That did the trick. It incensed her. Yes, she wanted to see her beautiful children. It's one of the only things she'd ever wanted for herself. Being a mother was something she had wanted her entire life, and she wouldn't miss out on it now. Groaning, she curled her toes in the sheets of the bed, dug her fingernails into the metal of her companion's hand, and bared her teeth in an effort not to scream.

She laughed and cried at the same time when she heard the cries of a baby.

"It's a boy!" Nurse Zahn held him up under the light, covered with blood and fetal liquids. In his first seconds of life, the newborn's eyes were scrunched tightly together, avoiding the bright lights of the delivery room. Yet while his eyes were shut, his mouth spread wide open, emitting loud wails.

"Luke," Padmé sighed, crying now more than laughing.

"Why Mistress Padmé, he is certainly very small. But indeed Little Master Luke is also quite loud. Congratulations," Threepio commented as Padmé had finally released his hand.

The new mother took her son in her hands as he was wrapped in a fresh towel and dried off. All of his body was so small and so precious that he looked not like a baby but rather like a small moving doll. Luke's tongue moved about his mouth, as if he were trying to say something.

"May I feed him yet?" She asked, her gaze never leaving the face of her cherished baby. Nurse Zahn nodded cheerfully.

It was as Luke finished nursing from his mother that Padmé gripped her still-rotund stomach and let out a grunt of recognition.

"Okay, dinner's over Luke. All right, Senator, we'll just put him here for now," she took Luke from his mother's arms and placed him carefully in a nearby crib. "Droid, please watch over the child. Senator Amidala, I need you to get back in position, because Luke's twin is coming."

Padmé didn't need telling twice - she braced against the pillow that was adjacent to the wall, and ground her teeth again.

Ten minutes later, and still no progress. Padmé felt fainter than she had before. She remembered what Nurse Zahn said, _"Do you want to see them or not.?" _Taking a moment to breath and collect herself, Padmé gave it her all with a long, drawling moan of pain.

"Yes! Yes! Senator, it's a girl! It's a girl!" Nurse Zahn held the little girl in her hands, more triumphant than ever that she had performed a birth successfully.

"Leia," Padmé whispered quietly.

"Senator? Senator Amidala?"

This time, Padmé did not hold out her arms and request to hold her child. No, she was passing out into the pillow. Her eyes were closed and her hands lay limp and pale on the sheets.


	6. A Bond Broken

Padmé's consciousness swam in and out of focus. As if many kilometers away, she could the hear the beeps and hums of machines. Someone was shouting and all she could really extract from their words was her name. Someone was calling her name, and someone was crying loudly. It was hard to make anything out clearly, other than the feeling that her energy was draining slowly from her body.

Deliriously, Padmé murmured, "Leia? Luke? Anakin. . ." A moment later and she had finally slipped under the boundary of waking, not even noticing the poking sensation as needles were shoved into her arms and an oxygen tube was forced down her throat.

* * *

"How long has she been like this?"

Padmé Amidala, one of the strongest woman Obi-Wan Kenobi ever had the privilege to meet, lay still on the hospital bed, still as stone and breathing slowly from an oxygen mask that covered the entire lower half of her face. Several small tubes and wires had been inserted into her forearms, all of which corresponded to machines on either side of the bed. The twins were also positioned, now thankfully quiet, at her bedside. Obi-Wan could tell that they were sleeping.

"Just a couple of hours. She'll come around in a bit, but she'll be very weak. She suffered a lot of blood loss when giving birth to the girl."

Nurse Zahn had successfully saved Padmé's life, due to some quick thinking and many years of experience in birthing. When Leia had exited the womb, a hemorrhage had developed in the birthing area and had caused a rapid amount of bleeding. The shouting Padmé had heard was Nurse Zahn barking orders.

Obi-Wan remained silent, leaning against the window pane that separated himself from the patient. The task ahead of him would only weaken Padmé's condition further, and he couldn't fathom how to succeed without being dishonest. Above all, he did not think that he could bear lying to her. It would be wrong, as if he were actually taking advantage of her frailty. Obi-Wan could not betray her in such a way.

"Are you the father?" The nurse asked quietly, even a little cautiously.

"No." She nodded, a little embarrassed that she had dared ventured there. "I'm just the brother-in-law," he added, for he was sure of the true identity of Luke and Leia's father. The fact only made his job harder. And for Padmé to have to take this in all at once. . . at this point, Obi-Wan wasn't sure whether he actually had the hear to reveal the terrible news to her.

"May I go in?" She nodded again before he opened the door to the room and gravitated to the twins. Leia, turned to her side slightly, was in a tranquil, undisturbed slumber. Her brother, on the other hand, was wide awake. His brilliant blue eyes almost broke Obi-Wan's heart.

How could he tell Padmé that this baby's father had turned to the Dark Side? How could he be the bearer of such horrific news? How could he, with the knowledge of Anakin Skywalker's life, destroy the evil being that had taken his former student's place?

Obi-Wan was lost. He was, for the first time, torn between duty and his own anguish. But he _must _destroy Vader, or else many more lives would be taken. One life saved was not worth the lives of hundreds of others. Obi-Wan painfully understood the reason behind the no attachment rule maintained by the Jedi. His spirits only deteriorated when he looked into the opacity of the future and imagined Padmé raising the twins as a widow. She would probably hate him.

He couldn't say that he would blame her if she did - he would hate himself.

The Jedi gently stroked the light brown fuzz growing on Luke's head. Luke didn't make a sound; he just stared intensely at the stranger, his mouth agape. Simultaneously, Padmé's eyelids began to flutter open. At last, she had woken up from her concussed state. She tried to pry the oxygen mask off of her face, mostly unsuccessful due to her weak state. Obi-Wan wordlessly detached the elastic band that circled around her head and Padmé set the mask atop one of the nearby machines, breathing slowly but surely.

"Obi-Wan. . . what is it?" She asked quietly, her voice coming out in little more than a whisper. "Is. . . Is Anakin. . . all right?" Getting all of her words out was something of an effort as she lay exhausted on her pillows, eyes barely open.

He replied with a sudden sense of being heavy, "I don't know. That is what I came to ask you. When was the last time you saw him?"

He waited patiently as his long-time friend closed her eyes fully, thinking the matter over. Either that, or attempting to come up with a half-truth. "Two days ago, I think. He. . . came to visit me, and to talk about my. . . pregnancy. He wanted to know if there was. . . anything he could do to help." Aside from her heavy breathing, Obi-Wan could sense the hesitation that came before each separated phrase. Something had happened between them.

With slight guilt, the Jedi Master prodded further. "Are you sure -- are you absolutely sure that was all he spoke to you about?"

Again there was a paused. She swallowed, and as she did Obi-Wan saw a thin layer of perspiration shining on her brow. Was he pushing her too far? He struggled with himself on whether he should really continue questioning her. She was stressed and in a weak condition. What he was planning to do - if and when she found out about any of it - could kill her.

But this was his duty. He needed, _he must, _do this. The lives of the galaxy were in his hands now.

_All for the greater good, _he told himself.

"Why. . . are you asking me this?" There was a faint hint of desperation in her voice. With every word, Obi-Wan felt his heart breaking.

This was the hard way to learn. Obi-Wan always seemed to be learning things the hard way. That your first and foremost duty as a Jedi was to be calm, logical, and passive. _There is no emotion; there is peace._

Padmé's soft brown eyes were staring at him intently, scared, inquisitive, and even a little angry. Obi-Wan found it hard to look her in the face.

"Because Anakin has turned. . . to the Dark Side." A sharp intake of breath later, and he found himself breaking down. His mind barely comprehended the movement of his lips as he revealed everything - the recordings, the deaths, the bodies, the clones, and worst of all, the look of pure hatred in his former Padawan's eyes as he struck down every last one of his former comrades.

Obi-Wan didn't know quite where he had stopped, or when; only that after he finished, Padmé was shaking with anger as she sat up in her hospital bed, giving him that fiery and penetrating stare.

"That's a lie! You're lying. Anakin would never -- I know -- You're wrong! How could you even say such things?"

He couldn't stand her blazing eyes any longer, and without reply, turned away. If his heart had not been breaking before, it was surely shattering into tiny pieces now. This was it, and their friendship was over, whether she chose to believe him or not; if she chose to hinder him in his duty or not. Whatever happened after this moment of revelation could never repair her contempt for him, he knew.

Upon hearing the Jedi Master's silence, Padmé said in a firm, yet quiet tone: "Get out." The words were disjointed in their emphasis. Her eyes trailed Obi-Wan's journey to the door. As he glanced back quickly, he saw that with all the anger in her eyes, there was a glimmer of fear. And if he had known then, from the peculiar emotional facets of her eyes what she was about to do, he would never have obeyed her orders.


	7. Imperfect Premonitions

It was common knowledge that the protocol droid See-Threepio was a nuisance to whomever had possession of his services. Not only was he that, but he was also an annoyance to any living being that stood within a four meter radius of his shiny golden casing and slightly prissy voice. In his defense was the fact that Anakin had built him out of scrap parts from Watto's junkyard, which must have contained any variety of random and foreign components.

On that note, Threepio did play an important, while annoying role. For the same golden protocol had intercepted a message while waiting for his mistress to awaken. This very message contained information leading to the whereabouts of his creator and master, Anakin Skywalker. So, it was with as much almost-human worry and tentativeness that he presented his findings to the clearly frustrated and distraught Padmé Amidala.

"What is it?" She sighed wearily, hearing Threepio enter her room cautiously.

"Oh, Mistress Padmé. There has been a message at your apartment which I have received. It is from Master Ani."

Padmé's head snapped up at recognition of the name, her eyes almost wild with concern. "Anakin? Sent a message? Well, tell me, what's happened?"

"Well, he says that he is very worried that you were absent from your apartment earlier this afternoon and asks where you are for he is on assignment, by the Supreme Chancellor - or, excuse me - Emperor himself and is set to take flight for the Mustafar system. He requests, rather urgently, I might add, that you respond to a specific frequency as soon as you have received the message. What shall I tell him?"

Trying to motivate her neurons, Padme closed her eyes and settled her being into a state of calm. Or at least, she attempted to do so. "Connect me to his frequency."

"Yes, Mistress Padmé."

A few moments later and the distressed wife and mother released her shaky breath. There could finally be some order, some sanity.

"Padmé? Padmé, is that you?" He pulled back his hood and allowed Artoo to pilot his starfighter in the background.

"It's me," she breathed with relief. "Anakin, what's going on? The Temple was... up in flames and I was so worried. What's happened?" The question was on the tip of her tongue, ready to unleash itself and whatever truth or lie it beheld. She was barely able to restrain herself from screaming at him. Where had he been this past day? How could he have--?

He hesitated, a reaction tangible even on his holographic image. "The Jedi have betrayed the Republic - I saw them trying to assassinate the Chancellor with my own eyes. Then we discovered that it was all a plot to deceive us all. The Chancellor has given me the duty of finding the rest of the traitors as well as those who might still be loyal to the Republic."

Her mouth hung open, her eyes unbelieving. Her stream of consciousness told her of course it made sense and why else would Obi-Wan come to her with such a ridiculous story, while in the back of her mind she knew, ever so well, that her husband had strayed from the truth somewhere along the line. Yet he sounded so sincere, it was hard not agree, to keep things quiet, to simply do what he expected her to do.

She didn't know how much she would regret that later. Although somewhere underneath within her fears, that was one of them.

* * *

Obi-Wan sighed heavier than he could ever remember as he buried his head in his hands. He had been wandering like a phantom through the streets since he had finally broken the news to Padmé, agonizing over his next move. Further down than Coco district, the merging pavement and asphalt was littered with waste and Force-knows-what. Without much care as to the hygiene of his current hiding place, the Jedi Master sat on the corner of one of the buildings and racked his mind as well as the Force, for a sign to point him in the right direction. Once more, the Coruscanti sun began to set in the all too clear horizon. He looked to the sky pleadingly.

* * *

It had taken hours and far too much paperwork until they ad finally allowed her to leave. Despite being a member of the Galactic Senate, she was apparently a high-risk patient who needed a lot of medical attention. She assured them time and again that Moteé, Ellé, and Dormé were perfectly adequate caretakers and she would be in their careful hands. Not until the three handmaidens had shown proof of a nurse's license had the hospital staff allowed her to leave. Now that she was outside, she felt strangely vulnerable.

Shaking the thought away, she hugged Luke and Leia closer to her chest, their soft fleecy blankets shifting slightly in her arms.

"Milady?"

"Yes?"

"Where to now? Your instructions were somewhat vague, if I may say so." Dormé had always been such an aunt-like companion, Padmé wondered, fleetingly, what might happen to her soon. To alll of them.

"Right," she agreed. There was nothing else to say, really. She needed to get to a hideaway and quickly until Anakin could finish "handling it." When she had asked him, repeatedly, about the state of the war, the galaxy, and of Palpatine, he seemed to go into a mode of forced calm and coolness, as if he was trying to explain a mathematical concept to a child. That near-stoicism scared her, just like the silence before a storm.

"Milady?" Ellé frowned, almost impatiently.

"I'm sorry. I..." he had told her just to make it to Naboo. While it was certainly a safe haven for both of them and the place she'd wanted to escape to for the past ten months, now she was having doubts. It was his tone, his mannerisms, his _eyes, _that were all so foreign that she wasn't sure about the safety of this plan. After all, she wasn't just looking out for herself now. She was almost certain that if she carried through with what he had instructed her with, it would end badly and the storm would erupt into something far worse.

At the same time, the desperate part of her was too afraid to calculate the consequences of _not _doing what he had said. There was nothing rational to picture there for her - in the end, she knew that confrontation would come. She only hoped that it would be tempered when she arrived.

"... I need to go to Varykino."

Her three most faithful friends nodded their assent. Ellé and Moteé arranged to come with her, while Dormé stayed behind. When the time came for Padmé to let the twins fall asleep, it was hard for her to forget the tears that had sprung from her decoy's dark eyes.


	8. Within Reach

Wiping her embroidered sleeve across her face, Dormé watched the Nubian ship streak into the sky like a silver bullet. The moisture dwelled as pools in her eyes, but she blinked back the tears, refusing to let them fall. Of all of Padmé's handmaidens, the secret of their mistress's marriage and subsequent pregnancy had been entrusted only to herself, Ellé, and Moteé. While Dormé was a strong woman, she felt strangely alone here with that knowledge.

The early evening breeze nipped at her exposed skin and face, and she quickly wrapped herself in her cloak, turning back to the craft that Captain Typho had dropped her off in. She would return to Padmé's apartment and stay there until it was time to go keep up appearances again.

When she opened the door to the apartment, she was alarmed at the sight of Obi-Wan Kenobi standing, almost like waiting, on the veranda. She gasped shortly before regaining composure. She couldn't let the fact that he was a powerful Jedi ruin her cover story.

"Master Kenobi," she began.

"Dormé," he replied, turning toward her. "I know that the Senator has left the planet, and that you're obligated to keep it a secret. But she and her children are in grave danger. I need to know where they went to... to have any chance at rescuing them."

Her chin tilted upwards in defiance or his plea. "I'm sorry Master Kenobi, but you'll have to do a little better than that."

"Of course." He left the veranda, walking until he was but a few feet from her. She tensed slightly, but stared at him stonily. "You know as well as I do who the father of those twins is - my former Padawan, Anakin Skywalker. I do not know the details of their relationship, but I know that she has gone to see him. The fact of the matter is that the man we both knew to be Anakin Skywalker has turned to-- to the Dark Side," he sighed heavily, the names beginning to choke him.

"If you saw the announcement, you know that... that I can't possibly be making this up!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, the stress finally manifesting itself. "If you have any... any common sense, you'll know that I wouldn't do that. I can't. Padmé, her twins, they're all in danger and I _must _find Anakin before he loses control of himself. I know he will, he always has. He is evil and twisted now, he--he killed _so many of them._"

Dormé was alive with panic. If Obi-Wan Kenobi was really speaking the truth, she had not but an hour ago allowed her mistress, her friend, to depart on a ship for what could very likely end in her death. And as fast as these things reeled through her head, she still demanded, "You've got to give me a little more than that. He loves her - how could he--"

His blue-gray eyes met her dark ones with intensity. "He is no longer himself. Anakin has become a Sith and embraced this darkness, this evil that now he can mercilessly slaughter his former colleagues, all the remaining Jedi in the Temple. Or what was the Temple. He thrives on anger, his love for her is gone, transformed into something terrible, I fear. There is no knowing what he might do to her."

She breathed slowly. "Tell me what I need to do."

* * *

"Artoo, set the cloaking device before we get into the atmosphere. I'd prefer it if our entrance went unnoticed."

A couple parsecs away, and Anakin would be arriving on Naboo. He would have to wait for Padmé to arrive, but he was overjoyed in any case. Finally, things would be the way they were meant to be. His children would live freely, not as a secret, but as part of the family that he would be able to take anywhere with him. He would make their lives perfect and ignorant of sorrow. There would be no death and no more Jedi to bother with his visions. Only a few kilometers below, he could see the clouds of the blue-green planet shifting slowly. Sundown would come soon.

His yellow highlighted starfighter glided easily into the the landing bay adjacent to the Lake Country villa. Artoo bleeped a query - after years from listening to his mechanical friend's many different speeches, he was able to understand even without the help of a translating screen. Leaping out of the cockpit, he replied, "Stay here, Artoo."

The landing bay stood empty but for his lone starfighter. Padme had yet to arrive, a fact which he faintly worried about. For once, however, he would wait. He had confidence that she would arrive soon , as well as agree to his plans. Anakin lowered the hood of his cloak upon entering the door of the villa. The place was clean and barely dusty, but somewhat deserted. No one had been pre-warned of his arrival, something which he had purposefully intended. With his hand waving at eye-level, the sconce light flickered alight. Outside, he heard the distant hum of an engine.

* * *

Breathing deeply, Padmé swung backwards in the chair and clambered out of the cockpit. Although Ellé and Moteé had insisted that she rest with the twins, she was too nervous to be able to stay in one place and rest. The sole concentration that she had put on navigating the ship had been a distraction from everything she wanted to avoid thinking or even feeling in space of the present. In the pit of her stomach, she knew that none of this could lead down a good path. Nonetheless, she collected her children in her arms with their blankets secured comfortably around their bodies and walked swiftly down the ramp.

Luke and Leia fidgeted simultaneously, cooing the faintest bit with their quiet garbles. "Shh," she soothed, "it will be okay." Ellé and Moteé understood that their mistress desired to be left alone, so they unloaded everything else from the hold, Threepio tottering behind them with a word or two.

Inside, Padmé saw lights glowing from the window panes. She neared the veranda where her husband appeared from inside the house. Despite her doubts and dread, Padmé felt a smile creeping up her lips. Upon seeing her and the babies, Anakin also smiled, his arms held wide open to envelop his family. She carefully and almost reluctantly handed him Luke, then Leia after a brief hug. She felt as if the space between them all was fragile, like anything might interfere with it at any moment.

"Padmé, come inside and rest. There are some things we need to discuss, angel."

She smiled weakly and followed him inside the villa, her hands aching for the touch of her children. It didn't feel right to have Anakin holding them in that way with his back to her. Even though before at the hospital and in the ship she had been apart from them, to have someone else other than herself hold Luke and Leia felt so terribly wrong. At the same time, she was tired. Despite being held in the hospital for almost forty-eight hours following birth, she still was in dire need of rest.

Her husband, however, was mostly unaware of these thoughts. He led her to a chamber almost adjacent to the one they normally used and explained, "It will be the nursery, like you always wanted. We can keep them in here and they'll be close enough to our bedroom that we'll reach them quickly."

Padmé's exhaustion was beginning to get the better of her. Maybe space travel had been over-exertion. Breathing heavily she replied, "Ani, it's... it's wonderful."

She was barely able to detect Anakin picking her up and laying her down on the bed. All she knew before the world went dark was that she needed to protect the babies, hold them tight to her chest and rock them in her arms. In her dim dreams, she was constantly trying to reach them, but somehow, each time she just couldn't make it.


	9. Making Sense

He had been here for a couple of hours, listening intently to Dormé's descriptions of the past three years in which his friend had lived another life. Obi-Wan had always known that Anakin's affections for Padmé had been more than friendly, but he had certainly never suspected Padmé's sense of duty and responsibility to allow a marriage. He had always thought she would be more controlled. Apparently, he'd been wrong. About everything. And now he was going to pay for his mistakes; the entire galaxy would.

"I will do everything I can to save them," he said, more to himself than to Dormé.

She stared at him strongly. "I know you will, Master Kenobi. May the Force be with you."

Obi-Wan slunk into the seat of his starfighter once more as Arfour emitted a querulous beep. "And may the Force be with you." With that, the domed top of the fighter secured itself with an airtight squeal and the craft shot into the sky within seconds. Alone in the absolute silence, Obi-Wan sighed.

* * *

Padmé's eyelids began to flutter open to less than familiar surroundings. Something cold and hard was pressing against her mouth and it had even colder liquid inside. Someone was trying to give her water, or so she hoped.

"Anakin?"

Lack of food, water, and sleep had combined to worsen her already weak condition. Leaving the hospital had been one of her less sensible ideas, a fact which she felt with the utmost acuteness at the moment. Speaking of the moment, she was laying under the covers of the bed with her husband hovering over her.

"Padmé. You fainted. The twins are in the nursery. And until you feel better I won't let you trouble yourself to see them."

She attempted to sit up, but was gently pushed back down by Anakin's mechanical hand. "Ani, please. Luke and Leia will need to be fed."

"Don't worry about the twins. Just rest, my love."

Her mouth opened to protest further, but she felt her own tired body melding into the mattress. She mentally told herself that Anakin _was _their father, he was capable of taking care of them while she regained her energy. The way that she had to remind herself of the fact disturbed her, but she was almost too weary to think very coherently at all. Vaguely, she could sense her husband's hand cover her own.

A few moments later and she asked, "Ani, what's happening?"

"The Chancellor has uncovered the Jedi's plot. They were trying to overthrow the Senate and the Republic to take over. Chancellor Palpatine delegated me the task of stopping them, as well as ending the Separatists."

"But?" There was more to that in his voice.

"But now he has declared himself ruler of the galaxy. I'm afraid that despite the Jedi's plotting and the corruption of the Separatists, there is still more work to do."

Padmé couldn't believe what she was hearing. None of it made a single bit of sense to her. The Jedi, plotting to take over the galaxy? The very idea was ludicrous. Even worse was what Palpatine had done, although the news did not surprise her quite as much. In fact, from a political perspective everything made sense all but the Jedi's alleged treason.

"Ani, what are you going to do?"

Without hesitation, he replied, "Overthrow him."

"What?" His wife's head turned toward him sharply, her eyebrows narrowing. "Anakin, what are you thinking? If he has appointed himself as Emperor then you need nothing short of an army to be able to do that! You don't think that you can just walk into his office and arrest him, do you?"

He looked her straight in the eye with a chillingly calm expression. "When I said overthrow, I meant that he was too dangerous to be kept alive. Did you know that he murdered Master Windu?"

Her unoccupied right hand flew to her eyes, covering them in frustration. She had been gone from the rest of the world for a day and all nine levels of Corellian hell had broken loose. Her voice trembling, she said, "No. No, you didn't."

Anakin stroked the back of her left hand with his thumb. "Now you can see why it needs to be done. But not yet. Not before I can know that you and the twins will be safe."

It was her turn to squint at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well eventually I'll have to leave you here and return to Coruscant. I need to know that you're strong enough to stay here, hidden for a while."

When Padmé opened her mouth to retort, he held up a silencing finger to her lips. "Rest now, angel." As he kissed her he placed his hand on her forehead. Within seconds she was fast asleep again. Once assured that she was entirely asleep, Anakin retreated back to the docking bay. He needed to make sure that everything was still under control.

* * *

_"The boy is dangerous Master. They all sense it, why can't you?" He had never been comfortable with the blatant bucking against authority. As much as he had always respected his Master, Obi-Wan could admit to feelings of doubt when it came to the strangely Force-sensitive boy._

_"Finding him was the will of the Force, Obi-Wan. There's no doubt about that." What the twenty-five year old man couldn't admit to, not even to himself, were those slight pangs of jealousy._

_"Obi-Wan... promise... promise me that you will train the boy..."_

_"Yes, Master."_

_"He... is the Chosen One... He... will bring balance... Train him..."_

_Yet somehow he took the duty without a moment's thought. That was how the world worked - leave it to calm, responsible Obi-Wan. He would take care of it, he knew the rules._

_"You will be a Jedi, I promise."_

_Although somehow, even with all of Qui-Gon's training and the Jedi's strict way of life, Obi-Wan had still managed to lose focus, to lose control. It had truly been like being a single parent with all the responsibilities of a father and a mentor. There had just been so much more to it that he couldn't figure out precisely where he'd made his mistake._

_"If only you had paid more attention," chastised Qui-Gon, his beard shaking in disapproval. "You never understood. It was wrong of me, but still, you never understood."_

_"You never understood...He is the Chosen One...He will bring balance." The Jedi Master repeated over and over..._

A series of mechanical beeps and murmurs awakened Obi-Wan from his less than restful attempt at sleep. His ship was approaching Naboo's system and, as he had instructed, his Arfour unit was to wake him from 'charging.' Rubbing his eyes, he checked the coordinates.

"Arfour, activate all cloaking devices and prepare to enter the atmosphere." The astromech whistled shortly in reply.

Shrugging his robes on, Obi-Wan could not shake the haunting words of his former Master. Despite the fact that it had been a dream rather than a prophetic vision, he felt as if it were a sign or forewarning of some sort. He only wished that Qui-Gon would have given him some more substantial advice, like how to solve this galaxy-wide cock up. _You never understood _was less than enlightening. Of course, there were many things he had never understood about the entire situation, now more than ever.

Above all things, Obi-Wan did not understand why he could not understand what now was so obviously present. He had been a fool to have left Anakin alone on Coruscant when his former Padawan had been so distinctly unsettled. He did not understand Anakin's motives for turning to the Dark Side - there had always been that unsteady nature of his, his uncontrollable anger, and that latent desire for absolute control. Yet he had always though that the younger man's good intentions and caring heart would be his redeeming qualities. It now appeared that not even that had been enough to suppress Anakin's ever-present fear.

The regret stung deep within him for all that was and what he was preparing to do. Finally, his starfighter broke through the clouds. Now all that was left to do was to create a plan that would ensure safety for any innocent parties. He dearly hoped that no unnecessary blood was shed; this was enough tragedy for one day.


End file.
